President Obama before delivering his second inaugural address.

 

 

Obama's Legacy Depends Most on U.S. Energy Transition (Folha, Brazil)

 

"The U.S. is undergoing a remarkable change in the domestic production of energy - gas and oil extracted from metamorphic rock - which is lowering the cost of production in the country. ... Battles in Congress tend to galvanize public attention. But Barack Obama's future in the history books may depend much more on the actions of his government in accelerating, and not hindering, the economic transition that is now underway."

 

EDITORIAL

 

Translated By Brandi Miller

 

January 24, 2013

 

Brazil - Folha - Original Article (Portuguese)

Shale gas extraction: changing the face of U.S. energy production, use and emplyment, and the legacy of President Barack Obama.

 

SMT LEARNING CENTER VIDEO: Hydraulic Fracturing- Shale Natural Gas Extraction, 00:02:41RealVideo

Barack Hussein Obama, 44th president of the United States, starts his second term caught between the desire to be one of the greatest leaders in the history of his country and his limited means for achieving that goal.

 

The list of tasks the Democrat has set for himself over the next four years is not a modest one. He seeks an economic recovery after five years of global crisis; bringing the public debt and deficit into balance; less hostile immigration laws; a restructuring of the policy of coexistence and containment of China; and to exert a stabilizing influence on a Middle East in crisis.

 

And such ambitious aspirations weren't enough. The massacre of children in the state of Connecticut on the Atlantic coast occurred in December, again placing the issue of gun control on the presidential agenda. The goal of restricting the access of citizens to firearms capable of such killings has awakened a latent clash in North American society.

 

The right to bear arms, an amendment inserted into the Constitution in 1791, is readily invoked by radical conservative groups opposed to stronger restrictions. Displaced from the context in which it was passed - its purpose at the end of the 18th century was to inhibit tyranny by granting the community the power to form militias - this constitutional principle has become the banner of the militant right.

Interestingly, this undercurrent promotes new idolization of the country's past. In this reconfiguration, the sabotage of a shipment of tea carried out by rebellious colonists in Boston in 1773 is at times given more importance than the Declaration of Independence, which was signed three years later.

 

However, strident factions of resistance fail to sufficiently explain or determine the adhesion of significant portions of the electorate, on average more moderate, to the ranks of conservatism. But the greatest watershed to mobilize the masses is the debate around the extension of government powers over the lives and pocketbooks of citizens.

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This is the most potent fuel for domestic opposition to Barack Obama's plans. The Republican majority in the House of Representatives calls for reducing the public debt and deficit, which has exploded as the cost of battling the crisis. Republicans also resist attempts to raise taxes or restrict, as is the case with firearms, the radius of individual action.

 

A crucial battle in this regard is underway. Obama, whose party dominates the Senate, needs the support of House Republicans to raise the legal ceiling for public debt, which now stands at $16.4 trillion (a little more than the annual U.S. GDP). If nothing is done, it is estimated that the supply of money to pay government suppliers and creditors will run out in mid-February.

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A dispute over the same issue in 2011 led to a breakdown in confidence in the U.S. and around the world in the economic recovery, and led to widespread financial turbulence. Despite that, Republicans are now repeating the tactic of wearing down the White House and extracting concessions from Obama in talks to avoid what would be a default of the planet's largest economy.

 

If Obama's legacy depends on the votes of Congress, as is the case for his proposals on fiscal policy, firearms and immigration, then he will need to mitigate Republican resistance. A Democratic victory in the legislative elections of 2014, which will renew the House and a third of the Senate, would be the most effective way of achieving the presidential goal.

 

But perhaps at the end of his eight years, the president's perceived legacy will be able to dispense with the always unpredictable results of elections and legislative battles. Over the next few years, a confluence of factors may favor an economic recovery on a safer foundation than in the previous cycle, which was powered by an unrecoverable debt.

 

The U.S. is undergoing a remarkable change in the domestic production of energy - gas and oil extracted from metamorphic rock with new mining techniques - which is lowering the cost of production in the country. A cycle of repatriation of industrial production, which was centered in Asia before, has begun to gather speed and scale, fueling the American consumer market.

 

 

SEE ALSO ON THIS:
Le Figaro, France: Obama Version II Ready to 'Return Blow for Blow!'
Xinhua, China: Barack Obama: 'Handsome and Young to Hoary and Old'
El Universal, Mexico: Influence-Flush U.S. Latinos Must 'Exploit Unprecedented Moment'
Ottawa Citizen, Canada: Obama Fails to Make Convincing Case for Strong Government
Globe & Mail, Canada: Obama Talks Alternative Energy While Counting on an Oil Boom'
Globe & Mail, Canada: Obama Pragmatist, Meet Obama the Liberal '
Economist, U.K.: Barack Obama is from the Government, and He is Here to Help You
Belfast Telegraph, North Ireland : Obama's Toughest Battle is Upon Him
NZZ Switzerland: Obama II: Prepare for America's New Danger- Averse Global Course

 

Incorporating the most prolific technology centers in the world, the U.S. will also gradually benefit from a demographic advantage. It already boasts a younger population than average in the developed countries, and it is moving to supplant China in this regard in less than two decades. If one believes in the forecasts, the Western power will have fewer difficulties attracting a workforce than the east.

 

Battles in Congress tend to galvanize public attention. But Barack Obama's future in the history books may depend much more on the actions of his government in accelerating, and not hindering, the economic transition that is now underway.

 

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Posted By Worldmeets.US Jan. 24, 2013